The 'transit country' issue makes them irregular, as you are meant to claim asylum in the first 'safe' country that you arrive in. They either did not claim asylum, are awaiting their claim, or had their claims denied in the U.S. before coming here. It doesn't always disqualify one for coming through any second country (ex. Many Syrian refugees entered Jordan before seeking official asylum elsewhere), but that debate stands on the argument of what determines a country to be 'safe' for each individual migrant and their claim.

On your last paragraph, I agree. But the article makes it clear that many Conservative politicians keep using the term of 'illegal immigrants', and Postmedia pushes that same narrative strongly, using it as a blanket term on all migrants without nuance.